Workshop lays groundwork for new Climate Action Innovation Lab

The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), convened a collaborative workshop to explore the development of a proposed Climate Action Innovation Lab (CAILab). The session,  brought together a group of researchers, practitioners, designers, policy makers, and community organisers from Cape Town’s climate ecosystem to shape this emerging concept. Held on 27 August, the workshop was facilitated by the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking Afrika (d-school Afrika).

CAILab is envisioned as a mission-driven platform that seeks to support teams in transforming climate risks into viable, evidence-based solutions. The concept builds on insights from earlier proposals and a pilot programme that guided four South African teams through a co-design process to develop climate solutions. The pilot highlighted both the need for this type of innovation support and offered valuable lessons about positioning CAILab effectively.

Unlike many initiatives that concentrate on later stages of innovation, CAILab will focus on the earlier and most fragile stages of solution development, where comprehensive support is often limited. Through a combination of research and open innovation approaches, it aims to accelerate the development of inclusive, locally relevant, evidence-driven solutions to the most pressing climate challenges, while contributing to economic growth and resilience.

This represents an important step toward building South Africa and Africa’s capacity for collaborative climate innovation that enables us to develop impactful solutions while also learning from our collective efforts.

Towards a connected innovation ecosystem

Workshop participants explored how CAILab might leverage its proposed innovation processes and research capabilities to attract investment, secure funding, and develop partnerships that could strengthen a climate innovation ecosystem and enhance the overall impact of the lab.

“We are not making sufficient progress in reducing climate risk. Leveraging the innovation ecosystem can help to address this gap. We want to focus on social innovation that carefully considers inequality and environmental goals,” explained Gina Ziervogel, ACDI director.

Workshop participants discussed CAILab’s potential role in bridging the persistent gap between climate risk identification and practical solution development. These discussions also emphasised the lab’s commitment to equity and inclusion, and ensuring innovations prioritise those most vulnerable to climate impacts.

Key considerations emerged around determining which types of challenges and teams the platform might support. Participants also noted that real-world solution development involves complex, iterative processes rather than straightforward input-output models, highlighting the non-linear nature of effective climate innovation.

Building strong partnerships across academia, government, civil society, and the private sector was identified as fundamental to CAILab’s success. Participants also recognised the unique dual opportunity to learn and advance our understanding of climate innovation processes while creating pathways to design, test, and scale real-world solutions.

Looking ahead

The university recognises that strong foundations exist across the different domains, and now is the time to weave these together to co-design responsive and innovative solutions. While this ambitious journey requires substantial collective effort and dedication, the ACDI remains committed to collaborative learning and growth as it works to address complex climate challenges through transdisciplinary approaches.

The CAILab team is now synthesising workshop feedback to refine the platform concept, with a focus on strengthening implementation pathways. Over the coming months, they’re focused on validating their methodology, refining their operational framework and expanding outreach to domain experts, funders, and innovators.

To stay informed or contribute to the development of CAILab, please reach out to Professor Ziervogel or Lavinia Perumal.